Out with Dactyloidae, in with Anolidae

The familiar name “Dactyloidae” is no more, as “Anolidae” is the taxonomically appropriate nomenclature for the family under the Zoological Code. As a result, all anoles, such as the A. porcatus above, are now part of the family Anolidae.

In a recent paper in Herpetological Review, Kevin de Queiroz clarifies the family nomenclature of the clade containing Anolis lizards.

Kevin has kindly provided the following abstract to Anole Annals for his article below:

Under rank-based nomenclature, Anolis is currently assigned to the family Dactyloidae under the premise that Dactyloidae is the oldest name in the family group based on the name of a genus included in that taxon (even if that genus is not recognized by subsequent authors who recognize the family). The name Dactyloidae Fitzinger 1843 has been considered to have priority over Anolidae, which has been attributed to Cope (1864). However, Cope (1864) is not the original author of the name Anolidae, which was proposed some 28 years earlier by Cocteau (1836) in a publication that has been overlooked by recent authors. Anolidae Cocteau 1836 has priority over Dactyloidae Fitzinger 1843, and therefore Anolidae is the valid (correct) name of the family that contains the genus Anolis. The publication by Cocteau (1836) also establishes that Cocteau, and not Duméril and Bibron (1837), is the author of the species name Anolis loysiana (originally proposed as Acantholis loysiana).